Solved Max HD Size Asus P8Z68-V Pro UEFI

[profdlp]

My last major upgrade was over four years ago. I am using this MB:

https://www.asus.com/Motherboards/P8Z68V_PRO/

It states this:

Supports Hard Drives over 2.2TB
ASUS UEFI BIOS natively supports hard drives larger than 2.2TB in 64-bit, with full storage space utilization helping deliver far more exciting computing than traditional BIOS versions.

My 2TB drive is packed and I would like to go to 4TB. Will my board allow this? There is nothing which specifically states how much over 2.2TB I can go.

On a side note, I've been a fan of Seagate. I understand their 3TB version was crap but Backblaze seems to think highly of the 4TB:

Want a reliable hard drive? Splurge for 4TB, study of 40,000-plus HDDs finds | PCWorld

Anyone recommend me something reliable?

I have a nice Samsung Pro SSD for the OS and currently use a pair of 2TB Seagates for data. (Each a duplicate of the other, though not via RAID.) I need a pair of good 4TB drives to give me some breathing space. Thanks!

 

[alphaniner]

The 2.2TB limitation was inherent to the MBR partitioning scheme, to overcome it one must use GPT. UEFI isn't necessary to use GPT partitioning, just to boot from a disk so partitioned. Actually that's not even the case, but officially Win7 can't boot from a GPT disk on a BIOS system.

So I'd say the blurb is mostly marketing fluff; the only thing meaningful about the mobo being UEFI is that you could use a 2.2+TB disk as your boot drive without sacrifice or hacks.

 

[profdlp]

Thanks. Would it be safe to say that any UEFI BIOS would include GPT, and that they all would pretty much handle drives of any size?

Also, should I expect to have to jump through any hoops getting the new drives formatted in Win7? These will be storage, not boot drives.

 

[alphaniner]

TL;DR - Barring limitations of the SATA chipset itself* any Win7 system - BIOS or UEFI - should have no issues using a 2.2+TB drive as non-bootable storage. I think Disk Management even defaults to GPT when the disk is of appropriate size.

Technically, the term "UEFI BIOS" is a misnomer, despite how often it's used. A motherboard is either BIOS or UEFI, though UEFI motherboards always (AFAIK) have a mode in which they behave as though they're BIOS. The only practical relationship between UEFI and GPT is bootability. Otherwise, the ability to use GPT comes down to OS support. BIOS/UEFI is irrelevant.

* I'm not aware of any such limitations, I only mention it because I know some older SAS controllers did have such a limitation.

 

[profdlp]

Thanks. This has been quite helpful.

I know that asking about brand preferences in HDs is like debating brands of motor oil (everyone has their most and least favorite and no one agrees on any of them), but anyone have any pro's and con's to share when it comes to brand and model? I'm not looking for speed, just reliability. My data is always stored in three separate places, but I still remember my FOUR dead IBM Deskstar (Deathstar) drives.

 

[mjf]

Technically, the term "UEFI BIOS" is a misnomer, despite how often it's used. A motherboard is either BIOS or UEFI, though UEFI motherboards always (AFAIK) have a mode in which they behave as though they're BIOS. The only practical relationship between UEFI and GPT is bootability. Otherwise, the ability to use GPT comes down to OS support. BIOS/UEFI is irrelevant.

That's my understanding. BIOS is firmware with MBR boot protocol. UEFI is also firmware that allows MBR boot (that I use on all my Windows 7 systems) or UEFI/GPT boot. I enjoy the features of UEFI firmware even though I do an MBR boot.

Profdlp, your system is similar to mine and my performance is so good (yes Sandy Bridge!) that it stays my personal system even though I've built to Haswell.

To the point.... I personally would still stick to 2 TB HDD for data drives since you have plenty of ports for drives. Whatever number or drive size you need to back them up unless the data is of little importance.

 

[Arc]

Hi profdlp. What can I suggest you. You know it all much better than that I do. Still, this is a thread, and I hold the ruby badge! I am saying what I would have done in this case.

If I am going to use Windows 7 only, I may use either UEFI or Legacy BIOS. Actually I would prefer Legacy BIOS for Windows7. Because UEFI will not add up much more there.

I would have used the Samsung Pro SSD for the C drive, as a MBR disk, by formatting it using the windows installer. It would be a MBR disk if formatted by windows installer in Legacy BIOS mode.

For the data disks, I would add those after the installation is done. As those are bigger than 2.2 TB, I would have formatted those as GPT disks. I would prefer to use Partition Wizard to format those disks as GPT.

Thanks. Would it be safe to say that any UEFI BIOS would include GPT, and that they all would pretty much handle drives of any size?

Yes.

Also, should I expect to have to jump through any hoops getting the new drives formatted in Win7? These will be storage, not boot drives.

For the storage drives, as those need to be GPT, if you want to format those in windows 7, initialize those as GPT.

​

There should not be any problem.

 

[profdlp]

...I would have used the Samsung Pro SSD for the C drive, as a MBR disk, by formatting it using the windows installer. It would be a MBR disk if formatted by windows installer in Legacy BIOS mode.

That is actually the drive I have for my C: drive. It's a 256GB model and is currently 61% full. I may bump it to the 512GB version as the prices seem to keep on falling.

For the data disks, I would add those after the installation is done. As those are bigger than 2.2 TB, I would have formatted those as GPT disks. I would prefer to use Partition Wizard to format those disks as GPT.

Will do. I actually still have two optical drives installed (both a DVD and Blu Ray burner). Along with the boot SSD that leaves me three SATA ports available for the storage drives. The first storage drive is for Data and the second is a backup. I run FreeFileSync - Free Backup and File Synchronization Software on a schedule in Task Manager to manage my backups. For this reason, it is easier to have two drives of the same size, else I could add a third 4TB drive and have some breathing space. Both data drives are 90% full (long story*), hence the desire to upgrade. I refuse to use the onboard Marvel SATA Controller as it is hideous, or I would have four more SATA ports.

*Long Story made short: I graduated from Cleveland State in December 2013 and took a job in the Washington, D.C. area. I stayed with my elderly parents in Virginia as the cost of living there is ridiculous. (One of my nieces just got her first apartment there and it costs her $1,800 per month for a 1BR. We are not talking about a mansion here, either...) :shock:

Most of my stuff has been in storage for nearly two years and I made do with a laptop during this time. My company has now allowed me to work from home and I have moved back to Ohio. I've been transferring all of the data I had stashed while in VA and was amazed at how much stuff you can amass. My theory is that data is like a gas: It expands to fill the available space in the container in which it resides.

 

[alphaniner]

Just curious: if you're backing up everything on one data drive to another, why not use native mirroring ("Mirrored Volume" in Disk Management)?

More curiosity: I'm not a exactly fan of anything other than Intel SATA controllers myself, but what kinds of issues have you had with the Marvel controller?

 

[profdlp]

FreeFileSync gives me time to change my mind if I goof. I have a spare computer that acts as the third backup location. By staggering the schedules I get a plan like this:

1) Create or Delete a file
2) Backup to second drive (internal) happens early the next morning
3) Backup to third drive (in spare computer) happens the day after that.

All operations are done one-way, so eventually the additions or deletions cascade all the way down.

Since I spoke of goofing, suppose I edit a file and regret it the next day. I can copy it from the secondary storage drive back to the primary storage drive. If I wait another day to change my mind I can snag it off the third storage drive. With mirroring, as soon as I make an edit, that change is duplicated on the backup drive. As a bonus, I have FreeFileSync set to throw deleted items into the Recycle Bin, giving me an indefinite amount of time to perfom an "undo".

I also use Macrium Reflect to make a weekly image of my boot drive, which makes me breathe easier in that regard.

 

[essenbe]

Sounds like a good backup plan Steve. Good to see you again.

 

[profdlp]

Why thank you, Jedi Master!

I should add that I bought a pair of Seagate 4TB drives and have them configured. Thanks to everyone for their advice!

 

[essenbe]

Sounds great, Steve. If we are lucky, we'll see you around more often.

 

[mjf]

Along with the boot SSD that leaves me three SATA ports available for the storage drives. The first storage drive is for Data and the second is a backup.

A disadvantage of an internal drive for backup is that it is vulnerable to Ransomware. It is also typically also spun up all the time affecting failure due to wear. There are advantages in have a least one backup on an external HDD - both OS and vital data.

 

[profdlp]

A disadvantage of an internal drive for backup is that it is vulnerable to Ransomware. It is also typically also spun up all the time affecting failure due to wear. There are advantages in have a least one backup on an external HDD - both OS and vital data.

The final backup set is sent to another pair of hard drives on a different computer. That computer serves mostly as a place to store those backups, along with being my print server. I have those drives set to spin down after being idle for a short period of time. That secondary computer has its own SSD as a boot drive and it handles the vast majority of that computers needs, meaning the storage drives generally only spin up during the backup process.

Think of them as external drives with a very robust (Win 7 or Server 2008 R2) disk management system. (The SSDs are mounted in a pop-out bay so I can monkey around with the Server 2008 R2 SSD when I'm teaching myself something.)